GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: KANSAS CITY (62-75) at TEXAS (63-74)

AL: KANSAS CITY (62-75) at TEXAS (63-74)

<h3>Royals look to continue dominance of Rangers</h3>



<div class="pre">Kansas City (62-75) at Texas (63-74) 8:05 pm EDT</div>

ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) - The Kansas City Royals will finishthe season with fewer than 100 losses for the first time in fouryears. The Texas Rangers have helped them along the way.

Rookie Billy Buckner makes his first-career starts as the Royalslook to continue their dominance of the Rangers in the secondgame of a three-game series on Tuesday.


Fellow rookie Alex Gordon drove in four runs to back fivescoreless innings from Zack Greinke as Kansas City posted a 8-1win on Monday. It was the Royals' fifth win in seven gamesagainst the Rangers this season.


With a win, Kansas City can ensure it will not lose 100 gamesfor the first time since 2003, when it finished 83-79.

Buckner (0-0, 1.17 ERA) was 9-7 with a 3.78 ERA in 27 games - 15starts - for Class AAA Omaha. The righthander has made tworelief appearances for the Royals this season.


Kevin Millwood (9-11, 5.11) gets the ball for Texas, which haswon seven of nine. Millwood allowed one run and six hits inseven innings of a 5-1 win over Chicago on Thursday.

The righthander, who has pitched seven innings in each of hislast four starts, is 4-3 with a 3.92 ERA in seven starts againstKansas City.

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY AT TEXAS -- LINEUPS

KANSAS CITY TEXAS
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
David Dejesus CF .269 6 54 Frank Catalanotto 1B .270 9 37
Mark Grudzielanek 2B .304 5 44 Ian Kinsler 2B .267 18 53
Ross Gload 1B .304 7 47 Michael Young SS .307 7 70
Mike Sweeney DH .251 7 31 Jason Botts LF .202 1 8
Mark Teahen RF .288 6 53 Brad Wilkerson RF .237 19 59
Alex Gordon 3B .252 14 54 Hank Blalock DH .283 6 20
Jason Smith SS .196 4 10 Jarrod Saltalamacc C .255 5 15
Joey Gathright LF .320 0 16 David Murphy CF .395 1 7
Jason Larue C .140 4 12 Ramon Vazquez 3B .237 7 25

Billy Buckner RHP (0-0, 1.17) Kevin Millwood RHP (9-11, 5.11)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS
WARMUPS: KAN - BILLY BUCKNER (0-0, 1.17)
TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD (9-11, 5.11)

UMPIRES: HP - PAUL EMMEL
1B - DAN IASSOGNA
2B - ANGEL CAMPOS
3B - RON KULPA

WEATHER: 84 Degrees, cloudy
WIND: 9 mph, right to left</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS
STARTING BATS: KAN - BILLY BUCKNER AND JASON LARUE
TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD AND JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: D DEJESUS (.269, 6 HR, 54 RBI)
M GRUDZIELA (.304, 5 HR, 44 RBI)
R GLOAD (.304, 7 HR, 47 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY MIKE SWEENEY SCORED MARK GRUDZIELANEK.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M SWEENEY ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 1
TEXAS 0 TOP, 1ST

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: M TEAHEN (.288, 6 HR, 53 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 1 1 2 0
TEXAS 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - BILLY BUCKNER
TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD

DUE UP FOR TEXAS: F CATALANOTTO (.270, 9 HR, 37 RBI)
I KINSLER (.267, 18 HR, 53 RBI)
M YOUNG (.307, 7 HR, 70 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (1) VS TEXAS (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .269
M Grudzielanek 2b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .306
R Gload 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .303
M Sweeney dh 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .255
M Teahen rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .287
A Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252
J Smith ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .196
J Gathright lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .320
J LaRue c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .140

Totals 5 1 2 1 0 2 2

BATTING: 2B - M Grudzielanek (29, K Millwood); M Sweeney (12, K Millwood). RBI
- M Sweeney (32). 2-out RBI - M Sweeney. Runners left in scoring position, 2
out - M Teahen 1. Team LOB - 1.


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Catalanotto 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .270
I Kinsler 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
M Young ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .307
J Botts lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .202
B Wilkerson rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237
H Blalock dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .283
J Saltalamacchia c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .255
D Murphy cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .395
R Vazquez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 1 -- 1
TEXAS - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Buckner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.17

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
K Millwood 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 5.13

Pitches-strikes: K Millwood 14-11. Ground balls-fly balls: K Millwood 0-1.
Batters faced: K Millwood 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Emmel. 1B--Dan Iassogna. 2B--Angel Campos. 3B--Ron Kulpa.

Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, in from right.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS
CONFIRMED STARTERS: KAN - BILLY BUCKNER
TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY IAN KINSLER SCORED FRANK CATALANOTTO.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, I KINSLER ON SECOND, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 1
TEXAS 1 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR TEXAS: M YOUNG (.307, 7 HR, 70 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY JASON BOTTS SCORED IAN KINSLER.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J BOTTS ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 1
TEXAS 2 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR TEXAS: B WILKERSON (.237, 19 HR, 59 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY BRAD WILKERSON (20) TO LEFT CENTER WITH
1 OUT IN THE 1ST OFF BILLY BUCKNER SCORED JASON BOTTS.
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 1, TEXAS 4

DUE UP FOR TEXAS: H BLALOCK (.283, 6 HR, 20 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA (6) TO RIGHT CENTER
WITH 2 OUT IN THE 1ST OFF BILLY BUCKNER.
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 1, TEXAS 5

DUE UP FOR TEXAS: D MURPHY (.395, 1 HR, 7 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 1 1 2 0
TEXAS 5 5 4 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - BILLY BUCKNER
TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: A GORDON (.252, 14 HR, 54 RBI)
J SMITH (.196, 4 HR, 10 RBI)
J GATHRIGHT (.320, 0 HR, 16 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (1) VS TEXAS (5) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .269
M Grudzielanek 2b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .306
R Gload 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .303
M Sweeney dh 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .255
M Teahen rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .287
A Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252
J Smith ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .196
J Gathright lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .320
J LaRue c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .140

Totals 5 1 2 1 0 2 2

BATTING: 2B - M Grudzielanek (29, K Millwood); M Sweeney (12, K Millwood). RBI
- M Sweeney (32). 2-out RBI - M Sweeney. Runners left in scoring position, 2
out - M Teahen 1. Team LOB - 1.


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Catalanotto 1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .270
I Kinsler 2b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .269
M Young ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .306
J Botts lf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .211
B Wilkerson rf 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .240
H Blalock dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
J Saltalamacchia c 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .262
D Murphy cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .386
R Vazquez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237

Totals 7 5 4 5 1 0 0

BATTING: 2B - I Kinsler (20, B Buckner); J Botts (5, B Buckner). HR - B
Wilkerson (20, 1st inning off B Buckner 1 on, 1 Out), J Saltalamacchia (6, 1st
inning off B Buckner 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - I Kinsler (54), J Botts (9), B
Wilkerson 2 (61), J Saltalamacchia (16). 2-out RBI - J Saltalamacchia. Team LOB
- 0.


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 1 -- 1
TEXAS - 5 -- 5
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Buckner 1 4 5 5 1 0 2 6.23

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
K Millwood 1 2 1 1 0 2 0 5.13

Pitches-strikes: B Buckner 35-19; K Millwood 14-11. Ground balls-fly balls: B
Buckner 3-0; K Millwood 0-1. Batters faced: B Buckner 8; K Millwood 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Emmel. 1B--Dan Iassogna. 2B--Angel Campos. 3B--Ron Kulpa.

Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, in from right.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 1 0 1 2 0
TEXAS 5 5 4 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - BILLY BUCKNER
TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD

DUE UP FOR TEXAS: R VAZQUEZ (.237, 7 HR, 25 RBI)
F CATALANOTTO (.270, 0-FOR-0, BB)
I KINSLER (.269, 1-FOR-1, RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (1) VS TEXAS (5) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .269
M Grudzielanek 2b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .306
R Gload 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .303
M Sweeney dh 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .255
M Teahen rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .287
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .252
J Smith ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .194
J Gathright lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
J LaRue c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .140

Totals 8 1 2 1 0 4 2

BATTING: 2B - M Grudzielanek (29, K Millwood); M Sweeney (12, K Millwood). RBI
- M Sweeney (32). 2-out RBI - M Sweeney. Runners left in scoring position, 2
out - M Teahen 1. Team LOB - 1.


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Catalanotto 1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .270
I Kinsler 2b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .269
M Young ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .306
J Botts lf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .211
B Wilkerson rf 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .240
H Blalock dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
J Saltalamacchia c 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .262
D Murphy cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .386
R Vazquez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237

Totals 7 5 4 5 1 0 0

BATTING: 2B - I Kinsler (20, B Buckner); J Botts (5, B Buckner). HR - B
Wilkerson (20, 1st inning off B Buckner 1 on, 1 Out), J Saltalamacchia (6, 1st
inning off B Buckner 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - I Kinsler (54), J Botts (9), B
Wilkerson 2 (61), J Saltalamacchia (16). 2-out RBI - J Saltalamacchia. Team LOB
- 0.


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 10 -- 1
TEXAS - 5 -- 5
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Buckner 1 4 5 5 1 0 2 6.23

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
K Millwood 2 2 1 1 0 4 0 5.10

Pitches-strikes: B Buckner 35-19; K Millwood 31-23. Ground balls-fly balls: B
Buckner 3-0; K Millwood 1-1. Batters faced: B Buckner 8; K Millwood 8.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Emmel. 1B--Dan Iassogna. 2B--Angel Campos. 3B--Ron Kulpa.

Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, in from right.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL KANSAS CITY AT TEXAS
NOTE: TEXAS SECOND BASEMAN IAN KINSLER DOUBLED IN THE FIRST
INNING TO EXTEND HIS HITTING STREAK TO 10 GAMES.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY IAN KINSLER SCORED RAMON VAZQUEZ.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, I KINSLER ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 1
TEXAS 6 BOTTOM, 2ND

DUE UP FOR TEXAS: M YOUNG (.306, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 1 0 1 2 0
TEXAS 5 1 6 6 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - BILLY BUCKNER
TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: J LARUE (.140, 4 HR, 12 RBI)
D DEJESUS (.269, 0-FOR-1)
M GRUDZIELANEK (.306, 1-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (1) VS TEXAS (6) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .269
M Grudzielanek 2b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .306
R Gload 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .303
M Sweeney dh 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .255
M Teahen rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .287
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .252
J Smith ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .194
J Gathright lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
J LaRue c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .140

Totals 8 1 2 1 0 4 2

BATTING: 2B - M Grudzielanek (29, K Millwood); M Sweeney (12, K Millwood). RBI
- M Sweeney (32). 2-out RBI - M Sweeney. Runners left in scoring position, 2
out - M Teahen 1. Team LOB - 1.


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Catalanotto 1b 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .269
I Kinsler 2b 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 .271
M Young ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .305
J Botts lf 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 .208
B Wilkerson rf 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .240
H Blalock dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
J Saltalamacchia c 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .262
D Murphy cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .386
R Vazquez 3b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .240

Totals 12 6 6 6 1 1 3

BATTING: 2B - I Kinsler (20, B Buckner); J Botts (5, B Buckner). 3B - R Vazquez
(3, B Buckner). HR - B Wilkerson (20, 1st inning off B Buckner 1 on, 1 Out), J
Saltalamacchia (6, 1st inning off B Buckner 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - I Kinsler 2
(55), J Botts (9), B Wilkerson 2 (61), J Saltalamacchia (16). 2-out RBI - J
Saltalamacchia. Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 10 -- 1
TEXAS - 51 -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Buckner 2 6 6 6 1 1 2 6.52

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
K Millwood 2 2 1 1 0 4 0 5.10

Pitches-strikes: B Buckner 50-30; K Millwood 31-23. Ground balls-fly balls: B
Buckner 4-1; K Millwood 1-1. Batters faced: B Buckner 13; K Millwood 8.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Emmel. 1B--Dan Iassogna. 2B--Angel Campos. 3B--Ron Kulpa.

Weather: 82 degrees, drizzle. Wind: 9 mph, in from right.</div>